The visiting California Golden Bears had aspirations of spoiling the New Year's Day party in Chapel Hill.
Fortunately, the UNC women's basketball program wasn't going to let that happen.
Courtney Banghart and the Tar Heels started the new year off right, securing a hard-fought victory over California on Thursday afternoon at Carmichael Arena.
It definitely wasn't easy
You know what they say, the best things in life don't come easy!
California made it tough for North Carolina throughout, as the Tar Heels were on "upset alert" pretty much through the third quarter.
In fact, the Tar Heels scored the first 9 points of the game, only to have California not only erase the deficit, but take a three-point lead before the first quarter came to a close.